Former Hells Angels clubhouse demolition in Nanaimo now complete

A process 16 years in the making is now complete, with the demolition of the former Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo wrapping up.

The Nanaimo property, along with two other clubhouses in East Vancouver and Kelowna, were the subject of a lengthy court challenge.

The courts had gone back and forth with their rulings, after RCMP raided and seized the Nanaimo clubhouse in 2007. In 2018, the biker gang launched a legal challenge of the seizure, and in 2020 the B.C. Supreme Court sided with the Hells Angels and returned ownership of the clubhouses to the biker gang.

That ruling was overturned by the B.C. Appeal Court in February 2023, and in October the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal filed by the Hells Angels, finally putting the legal challenge to rest.

Now, B.C.’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General says the demolition is complete, with only some fencing and some concrete foundation remaining.

Demolition started on Nov. 15, with Mike Farnworth, the minister of public safety and solicitor general, saying this is part of the action the province is taking to address organized crime.

“Government will continue to protect British Columbians and take action against organized crime by seizing illegally obtained assets – brick by brick, we will demolish organized crime and those that profit from it,” he said.

According to BC Assessment, the Nanaimo clubhouse had an assessed value of $282,500.

The ministry says there are no plans yet for the property.

With files from CHEK’s Adam Chan and Kendall Hanson

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